Affordable housing rethink

Room to move . . . planners say the previous laws were open to abuse.
Photo: James Brickwood

by
Ben Hurley

Planners and councils have hailed the NSW government’s changes to affordable housing laws, which they claim were being abused by developers to build apartment blocks in low-rise areas.

However, some said parking requirements could hit boarding houses and student accommodation, which provide desperately needed housing close to the city.

The laws introduced by the NSW Labor government in 2009 allowed developers to build bigger than council’s limits if 20 per cent of the rooms were rented below market rates for a decade. They also allowed apartments to be built in areas where they were otherwise not permitted under local zoning.

The State Environmental Planning Policy (Affordable Rental Housing) was designed as an incentive to the private sector to increase affordable housing options but it was met by furious opposition in wealthy low-rise areas such as Clontarf and the Hills District.

Planners who spoke to The Australian Financial Review said the previous laws were open to abuse. “You were able to do it by number of units, so for example you were able to put in half a dozen tiny little units to make up your percentage," said Tony Robb from Evolution Planning.

Under the new Coalition government’s changes, the proportion of rental accommodation is judged by total floor space, not the number of rooms.

Architect Kon Vourtzoumis, who designed a boarding house in Redfern which is now before council, said: “Obviously, this is more constrictive for developers but at the end of the day it’s a bit more responsive to the local area, and we can appreciate that."

Councils including Manly and Hills Shire praised the change. Hills Shire Council mayor Mike Thomas said the 2009 changes had brought a surge of inappropriate developments to the area as the provisions allowed developers to bypass the usual planning processes.

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“Something like 50 per cent of our development applications were for affordable housing," Mr Thomas said. “Developers who only just got development approval were asking for amendments to put in affordable housing."

The latest changes also affect boarding houses, mandating they be built within 400 metres of public transport and provide one parking space for every five dwellings. Previously there were no parking requirements.

But some said parking provisions would reduce the space for rooms in inner-city boarding houses, which were often popular with students who didn’t need parking.

“At the end of the day you have to do whatever is in the context," said Mr Vourtzoumis who designed a boarding house in Redfern which is now before Council. “If there is no parking in other dwellings in the area it’s unreasonable to ask for parking."

NSW Planning Minister
Brad Hazzard
said new applications would be rejected but existing applications would be subject to a “character test" against existing development control plans.